THE SITUATION IN JORDAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: Library of Congress
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): LOC-HAK-292-2-8-7
• Release Decision: RIPLIM
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: January 11, 2017
• Document Release Date: February 19, 2010
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: September 19, 1970
• Content Type: MEMO

No Objection to Declassification in Part 2010/02/19: LOC-HAK-292-2-8-7
MEMORANDUM i7l A
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
SECRET-SENSITIVE September 19, 1970
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM: Henry A. Kissingerd~
SUBJECT: The Situation in Jordan
After two days of fighting, the Jordanian army is still far
from securing Amman. Although the army continues to have the
upper hand, King Hussein apparently has been reluctant to apply
the maximum force available to him for fear of causing numerous
civilian casualties and reducing the city to a shambles. Some
of his military strength is also being drawn off to cope with
the stiff fedayeen resistance in the cities to the north.
Hussein's problem now is that the longer the fighting drags on
the greater will be the pressure from the other Arab states to
accept a compromise.. solution
Our Embassy in Amman comments that this is not a win-or-lose
situation for Hussein. The question is what kind of compromise
Hussein will settle for. He appears to view his objective as
restoring his authority in urban centers while not putting.
himself completely at odds with the Palestinians who form a
large part of his population. Put another way, he seems to be
seeking a solution which will still leave him with the support
of the "silent majority" of moderate Palestinians. This objective
and the pressures of other Arabs may cause him to stop short of
completely suppressing the guerrillas, but our Embassy last night
felt that unless the pace of his movement increased today he
would not be in a strong position to force compromise on his
,terms.
The Military Situation
After another day of heavy fighting in Amman in which the army
continued to make gradual progress in ring out the fedayeen,
the fighting slacked off again last night. The army opened up
again, however, at dawn and may be pressing its attack more
intensively then in the past two days. The embassy was re-
peatedly attacked last night by a small group of fedayeen who
were finally driven off by the Beduin guard with the help of a
tank. All embassy personnel are reported safe.
SECRET-SENSITIVE
No Objection to Declassification in Part 2010/02/19: LOC-HAK-292-2-8-7
 No Objection to Declassification in Part 2010/02/19: LOC-HAK-292-2-8-7
SECRET-SENSITIVE -2-
There are indications that the army is making some progress in
the north, although it seems to be meeting fairly stiff resistance.
Yesterday army troops were encircling Ramtha (see attached map),
just south of the Syrian border. Ramtha is a key town, since
Jordanian control there would cut off movement of fedayeen rein-
forcements and supplies coming in from Syria. According to
25X1
The Hostages
A-spokesman for the PFLP said yesterday that the 54 hostages from
the hijacked aircraft are "in good condition". A senior PFLP
official in Beirut, told our Embassy there that despite its
No Objection to Declassification in Part 2010/02/19: LOC-HAK-292-2-8-7
 No Objection to Declassification in Part 2010/02/19: LOC-HAK-292-2-8-7
SECRET-SENSITIVE
.previous statement, the PFLP is now prepared to negotiate the
release of the hostages.through the Red Cross. They insist,
however, that these negotiations be held in Beirut and quickly,
today if possible. The spokesman claimed that this proposal was
made not from weakness but for humanitarian reasons. He said
that as of yesterday afternoon a number of the hostages required
medical attention -- not because they had been injured in the
fighting, but because of their general health. He added that
the hostages were housed in areas where there had been no fighting,
but that there were no doctors available to treat them.
25X1
Reaction to U.S. Actions
The Soviets are apparently increasingly concerned at the pos-
-_--..- -British or Israeli- --intervention in Jordan.- - -
Soviet charge Vorontsov yesterday called "urgently" on Deputy
.Assistant Secretary Davies to ask that Secretary Rogers be
informed of the following:
-- The Soviets are concerned about the situation
in'Jordan which "complicates" the entire si-
tuation in the Middle East and may "adversely
affect" attempts to achieve a peace settle-
ment.
-~- The Soviets "hope" that the U.S. agrees that
it is necessary for "all states, including
those not belonging to this region," to
"exercise prudence" in their steps concerning
the Middle East situation. They draw "special
attention" to Israel and "hope" that the U.S.
will use its influence to preclude the possi-
lity of Israel's exploiting the situation.
The Soviets, for their part, have already urged
the leaders of Jordan, Iraq, Syria and the UAR
to take measures to put an end to the fighting
in Jordan.
--- The Soviet Government "as before, stands
for a settlement of the Middle East crisis
based on the November 1967 U.N. Security
Council resolution."
SECRET-SENSITIVE
No Objection to Declassification in Part 2010/02/19: LOC-HAK-292-2-8-7
 No Objection to Declassification in Part 2010/02/19: LOC-HAK-292-2-8-7
JORDAN: Current Situation
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No Objection to Declassification in Part 2010/02/19: LOC-HAK-292-2-8-7